K Mart vs. Gymboree: Gymboree knock off dress :)

I remember I used to love this line called "Ice Cream Social" by Gymboree. I never did get a chance to purchase one of the dresses I had my eye on though (it was always sold out or well beyond what I'd want to pay on eBay).

Today I went to K Mart and was pleasantly surprised at their collection of girl's Easter dresses. I liked them so much I could hardly narrow down what I wanted. I knew right away I was going to get the one that looked like a Gymboree dress.

Here is the Gymboree dress:

TOO cute, right? Well, here is the K Mart version for a $24 price tag:

The thing I like the most about this dress is it has tons of under layers, so when it is put on MiMi and tied in back it puffs out SO MUCH it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Sure, the K Mart Version has a bigger front bow, BUT it's precious beyond belief!

I let her pick out a sparkly pink dress also (for her birthday party dress). Whomever K Mart has purchasing the dresses (other clothing inventory) these days *high five* to you sir(s) / madam(s). YOU'VE out done yourselves!

Tile. Tile. Tile.

I AM soooo e x c i t e d !! aaaah! Seriously!! Going on the 8th year of home ownership, and all our bathroom reno's we are FINALLY getting the floors and shower walls TILED!! We bought the tile 2 or more years ago and always had to put it off due to lack of funds.  Today Doug's friend came over (who does tile for a living). He told us he would do it FREE in exchange for Doug to trade labor with him to fix his vehicle engine!! OOOOH MYYY GEEEEZ!!!

I can NOT tell you how incredibly elated I am right now!! Seriously, smiling so BIG!  I like the idea of trading skills with some one. My Dad used to do it with his Army buddies, and it saves money and gives you a chance to help and get help in return :) ooooh bathroom, I am so so so tickled pink you will finally look amazing!!

So for Saturday & Sunday our bathroom will be under demo and fix 'er up! I will be sure to post photos.
He suggested doing it in a brick tile pattern (using 12x12 ceramic tile by the way). This shall be fun!!

I feel so blessed!!

Saturday Fun Day..

My Saturday certainly started off on the wrong foot.  I woke up feeling like someone kicked me in my lower back. This has been a common occurrence anytime I get more than 5 hours of sleep. I wake up and my lower back feels horrible. It is so hard to get up and deal with the pain. It takes about 30 minutes until it passes. I don't know if it is my mattress or just me.

A couple hours later I envision myself as Super Mom and throw some clothes in the dryer. When the dry cycle completed the clothing smelled like burned popcorn not my Sparkle Blue Snuggle Dryer Sheets (boo!) and I notice the inside heating element (grate/coils) have caught fire but self distinguished.

Oh my world! So I am thankful it went out on it's own, and I am thankful the clothing did not burn up, and I am thankful for a tax return that can purchase a new cheap dryer if need be. But we are personally going to just buy a replacement coil panel first to see if that helps. Wish me luck! I'd rather use the $300 plus bucks on flooring for my den.

After all this I told the kids to throw on their shoes and we would head to a local ranch to feed the animals. We go here every so often because the kids love the critters and it's cheap and Ethan gets in free.

And, let's face it - if they are happy - I am happy!

How about this picture of my Ethan with a horse?

He attempted to kiss it, but Mr. Horse wanted his bread instead. I always cherish these moments because they make me smile. The best photos aren't posed - they are the life that unfolds before you. The life that happens while you wait for other things to happen. Enjoy each and every moment. Have a great weekend, dear readers!
                                                                                           

Almost 7?!

On March 10th, my daughter will turn 7. It's hard for me to believe that time has come and gone so quickly. Initially I remember the trying times as a first time mom; how the first sleepless year drug on and on. My daugher literally never napped and I was just so exhausted it was hard to think straight most days. I had many a morning of pouring the wrong thing into the wrong cup, spilling things while in a rush and just being a constant worry wart of a mother. It wasn't until she was 3 and I was pregnant with my son, Ethan that the time just started to fly by. It was crazy!

One moment, she is a small baby who wants me to hold her and love her all the time or she'll cry. The next second, she's a beautiful girl about to turn 7 - who has impressed me more and more each year.

Many times I think, there are parents in this world that could give her more than I ever could.  I think how incredibly lucky I am to be blessed with this sweet, smart, loving and beautiful child!

That is one thing I will never take for granted. I want my daughter to know that as long as I am alive she will be told every single day how amazing she is and how much she has to offer this world with her kindness alone.

My arms (if not, my heart) often ache to hold that small baby girl with the baby lotion scent, bright blue eyes and the big round cherub cheeks once more. Rocking her to sleep, and then sleeping with her on my chest (because she wouldn't have it any other way). Then I realize, I am lucky to hold that memory captive for as long as I have a memory.

What's more? She still loves hugs from her mama, she loves to sit on my lap to read a book, she craves every ounce of my attention and yet still gives so much of her own to her little brother, Ethan. So I haven't lost much as she has aged, and have gained so much more. I've learned to love unconditionally for the first time in my life, I have learned to be selfless, I have learned that I will wear my heart on my sleeve forever now. And, I am okay with that because I have been blessed.

I pray that she will always want to be a part of my life, because she is the most important part of mine :) She has grown so much. Now I need to figure out planning a small birthday party and what to get her for her birthday. It shouldn't be hard ;)

My photo skills over the years have certainly improved:)

"Oh, time, you fly so fast, yet the blessing with time is photographs, for when our memory fails us in the bitter end, we still have the beauty of a photograph to remind us of what was, what can be, what will be and what inevitably always has been " - me :)
                                                                                             

Mad Men is Coming BACK!!!

It brings me MUCH JOY and EXCITEMENT to blog about my favorite tv show EVER.

AND I DO MEAN E V E R & it's coming back on the air!

After a long hiatus, I am so pleased to read that MARCH 25th will be AMC's Season 5 Premiere of MAD MEN. Any other Mad Men fans out there? As many of my reader's know, I discovered the show by accident in July 2010 while visiting my sister in California.

I was channel surfing when I came to AMC, and was glued to what I thought was an excellent movie. As the commercial break came, I was quick to learn this was a "Mad Men" series marathon and NOT a movie. I was in season 2, but was so hooked, I didn't care that I was watching them out of order.

When I arrived back home the following week, I ordered Netflix for the first time in my life JUST to be able to rent every single episode of the last 3 seasons.  As I finished up Season 3 on Netflix, season 4 had started on AMC. I've laughed with the series, cried with the series and even felt an absolute sympathy for Don Draper when scene's from his childhood played out.

Season 4 ended on my birthday in 2010.

When the series did not return right away, I was sad and wondered if it would ever return.  I thought surely there HAD to be a return of this series. After all, it was the best series I have ever watched in the last 29 years of my life.

I continued to promote the show on my facebook and got several friends hooked on the series as well. I'd often share quotes from the show, one of my favorite being from season 1's "The Wheel".

Don Draper says of the Kodak Carousel Product:

 "Nostalgia. It’s delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the Wheel. It’s called the Carousel. It lets us travel the way a child travels. Around and around and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved."

If that quote does not get the gears in your head turning, I don't know what will.

I will be counting down the day's until the March 25th premiere and what would make it all the more better? If I get selected to host the "Mad Men Premiere House Party" via HouseParty.com My user name on HouseParty.com is girlxmom

This would be a party for the books, my friends. Who else is ready for Mad Men? :)
                                                                                                           

Today's Coupon Trip - $1 For EVERYTHING :) (taxes included)

Today while getting groceries, I noticed that I had a $2 extra buck from CVS that was set to expire tomorrow. I DARE NOT throw $2 away ;) So CVS was my first visit. I hadn't sat down to look at coupon match ups so went in and grabbed their store flyer to look at what they had.

All I was armed with was some Proctor & Gamble Coupon's they sent me a few weeks ago.

Nothing really grabbed my attention, but I was on my last tube of tooth paste so figured I'd look there.

So here is what I got (Coupon Deals Week of 2/12/2012):

* Colgate Total Whitening Tooth Paste on Sale For: $2.75
 - $2 ecb = 80 cent out of pocket (taxes included)
    & got 2 extra buck's back on this deal (making it a $1.20 money maker)

* Charmin Double Roll 4 Pack of Toilet Paper on Sale For: $2.99
  -$2 extra buck from above transaction
  = .99
  -$1 off ANY Charmin Coupon from Proctor & Gamble Home Mailer Booklet
= FREE (pay 20 cent in taxes)

WAL MART:

* Trial Size Cascade Action Packs = .97 cent
 - $1 off Any Cascade Action Packs from Proctor & Gamble Home Mailer Booklet
= FREE (+ .03 cent overage; which is basically applied to the taxes)

* Small Bottle of Gain Dish Detergent = .97 cent
 - $1 off ANY Gain Detergent or Fabric Softener Coupon from Proctor & Gamble Home Mailer Booklet
 = FREE (+ .03 cent overage; which is basically applied to the taxes)

So my COUPONING grand total today only cost me exactly $1 out of pocket (taxes included) for everything pictured. Making each item 25 cent a piece. Not too shabby :) Did you get your coupon on today? What deals did you score?
                                                                      

Just a quick post.

I have a little helper in my den make over ;) *shhh* We just won't let him know his mama already painted it all. He loves to think he is helping out. Sweet boy! This photo is very accurate on the color. Is it not the most relaxing color ever?? I am so glad I decided to go ahead and paint the wood work and beams white. - Still not complete, but soon enough:)

Updates.

I haven't written in about a week (give or take).

Not that I am a daily blogger (as my blog suggests) oops!  ;) I did have intentions initially to do so, but as I had baby number 2 (Ethan), and as he got older, I found out real fast that time on the internet was few and far between.

The most internet action I get these days is when I check my facebook on my mobile. I rarely get comments or anything and my phone tends to time out when I try to leave a comment. I generally just browse the status feeds of whomever facebook puts on my top news feed for that moment and catch up that way.

Since my dad has been home from his heart attack, he has vowed to give up smoking. I am very proud of him (and my mom). In that my father has completely given it up and my mom respectfully smokes outside now.

This is a RELIEF. Not only for his health reasons, but it makes it SO MUCH easier for me to want to go visit and bring the kids. Before you'd get sick if you stayed too long because they smoked so much in their home.

As for my den? Well, I painted to my hearts content on the wood working until I ran out of paint.

While we did file our taxes, they have yet to come back and when they do I can purchase more paint and finish this room.

I told ya - my projects take FOREVER. :)) But, they are truly a labor of LOVE and BUDGETING:)

The kids are doing well, Ethan is finally speaking more (although he is not nearly as outspoken as other children his age). I am hoping he will pick up more, but I have learned my son is a child who works on his own pace and I can not force him or make a "great race" of my child's mile stones. When he is ready he will be ready. All I can do is encourage, use flashcards and read books and cross my fingers and pray for the best.  His pediatrician does not seem phased by it, so I hold onto positive thoughts.

MiMi is doing really well in school and received another accelerated reader award for the 2nd 9 weeks at her school's awards ceremony. She isn't so great at math (but neither am I). I have been stalking home school sites and printing math work sheets that correspond with her work in school and have been giving her the extra practice at home.

Kids these days do SO MUCH more than we ever did at an earlier age.

I suppose there isn't too much to type about at the moment, but I promise once the tax return hits us and some debts are paid off, I will update some photos of the den make over and other fixer uppers around the house on a tight budget.

I hope everyone has been well and has a blessed week! :))